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A year ago, we endured the most awful few days I can remember in a long time. Sure, in 2004 we were hit by three of the four major hurricanes that nearly beat our state to death. We lived without water. Without electricity. And we did so in hot and humid conditions.

But this … these events—the murder of Christine Grimmie, the mass shooting at Pulse Nightclub, the alligator attack and subsequent death of little Lane Graves while vacationing at Disney with his family—took us by surprise. There were no warnings. No one on The Weather Channel told us to baton down the hatches this time.

And these tragedies involved innocents and the possibility that if someone had said something—anything—to alert the authorities (other than the gun shop owner who tried) they would not have occurred.

As a writer, I immediately wanted to take to social media to express my grief. My anger. My confusion. But, there are times when writers just need to hush. There is a time for everything, King Solomon (or so we believe) wrote in the book we call Ecclesiastes. And this is so.

Writers, especially Christian writers (I believe), must have all the facts before spouting off (and haven’t we seen that in the last election cycle?). They also must allow the Holy Spirit to settle the issues and emotions within them. The hurt. The hate. The anger. The confusion. They should—they must—allow their heart to beat in rhythm again. Rhythm with Him, above all else.

So, I waited. At the end of the week, when I believed I may have put all the pieces into place, I wrote on my Facebook page:

I just sent a txt to a friend that I think sums up this week in Orlando. First Christina Grimmie. Then the mass shootings at Pulse. Then the sweet child dying at Disney.

The air has gone out of Orlando, I told her. It's palatable. It's what we are talking about, everywhere we go. It's painful and, sadly, it's real.

And we can all argue our points. Yes I believe if you are on a no fly you should be on a no buy. Yes I worry about any radical religion. And yes I believe in MY right to own any gun I want to and to take it out to my property and shoot the heck out of it if I want to. When I want to. If I want to.

And I believe in my right to defend myself or my loved ones if it ever came to that.

But I don't believe in murder. I DO believe we need to address the REAL issue, which is radical religion married to mental illness, which no one really wants to talk about.

I've never known a single gun that woke up one day and said, "let's go kill someone." I also don't know a car that says it or a plane that says it or a knife that says it. Yet even after all the car accidents and plane crashes and knifings we keep getting in our cars and boarding those planes and buying butcher knives for our kitchens without blaming the cars, planes, and knives. No one calling for a ban, even when someone uses them purposefully to kill.

Since Tuesday I'm also more cautious when I walk my dog along the path of the pond in my back yard. Because it is the season for mating. And aggression.

And I don't just mean gators.

And that's just the way it is.

No air. No air.

The result was phenomenal. Lots of “shares.” Lots of positive comments. None negative. Not a single one. I think this is because I waited until I had my emotions in check but had not lost all feeling entirely.

Years ago, after a traumatic event in my personal life, I attempted to create a book from the heartache. When I presented to editors—all who had known me for years—they were shocked by the venom in my words. Of course, they rejected my work, and I walked away, shaking my head at their insensitivity.

Years later, I understand why they said “no.” I needed to get my feelings in check before I could write fair and balanced about the events as they’d truly transpired.

Writers, when they experience pain, often want to write out of that hurt. But sometimes—most times—waiting for the right “season” as King Solomon so aptly put it, is the best first step in expressing your true feelings. Especially if you wish to be taken seriously as a writer.

Have you experienced positive results from waiting to write? If so, leave a comment and share with our community of fellow writers.

One of the original five members of Word Weavers, Eva Marie Everson is a multiple award-winning, best-selling author and speaker. Known as a Southern fiction writer and Bible scholar, Eva Marie teaches at writers conferences, has spoken in churches and special events for women across the country and Canada. Some of Eva Marie's most notable works are: Reflections of God's Holy Land; Sex, Lies, and the Media, The Potluck Club (series); Things Left Unspoken; The Cedar Key series; Waiting for Sunrise; Unconditional (novelization of the movie by the same title), The Road to Testament; and Five Brides. In the autumn of 2016, she had two books release: The Bipolar Experience (written for LeeAnn Jefferies) and God Bless Us Every One. She worked with Eric Eichinger on the biography of Olympic champion and missionary to China, Eric Liddell (Chariots of Fire) for Tyndale Publishing, which releases in 2017. Also releasing in 2017 is Eva Marie's second novel for Tyndale, The One True Love of Alice-Ann. Eva Marie is the president of Word Weavers International, the acquisitions editor for Firefly Southern Fiction, and a freelance workshop leader for AAA. Eva Marie lives with her husband in Central Florida where they are owned by one short dog. She is a mother and a grandmother.